Winter Times Two
by Maiamaid
Summary: When Jack meets someone he didn't know existed, he must use all his wits to figure her out. Is she hiding something? What is she doing there? Why am I asking you all these questions? You'll find out soon.
1. Chapter 1: More than One

**Phew. Where to start.**  
 **This chapter was the first one I ever wrote. I recently re-read it and it was...awful. I was also a bit younger when I wrote this, so even though I got better, I have very few readers for this story because the first impression this chapter gives is not the best one. I'd like to keep this chapter for my personal files, just to see how far I've come, but you guys get the better version. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RotG...yet...**

Jack stifled a laugh. This was the best idea he'd ever had! Frost adorned the surface of Bunnymund's now frozen dye rivers, the sentinel eggs now were frozen solid, and the whole warren was blanketed in a thick layer of snow.

Oh, and when Bunny had woken up to his eggs painted like candy canes, his face was priceless. The booming exclamation of, "Frostbite!" now reverberated through the Warren, which was music to Jack's ears. However, as Bunny looked around, attempting to locate said winter spirit, he narrowed his eyes at one specific tree.

Jack's eyes widened as a Bunny spotted his hiding place in the branches of a snow covered tree. Deciding to make a run for it, he grabbed his staff and jumped into the air, sending out a silent plea for the Wind to get him out of there.

Bunny saw it coming and launched himself at the winter spirit, grabbing him by the ankle as he took to the air. Unable to carry the combined weight of Bunny and Jack, the Wind dropped them both, leaving Jack to the mercy of the enraged Bunny. Ok, so maybe not the _best_ idea...

Landing painfully on a frozen patch of ice, Jack rubbed his head, wincing as he felt a bump forming there from the fall. He glared at the air, which had left him to the wolves-that is to say, Bunny. "Traitor," he muttered darkly to the wind. Bunny stood triumphantly. "Thought you could get away, did ya? Well think again!" Bunny exclaimed. Jack rolled his eyes and made to get away again. Bunny, anticipating this, grabbed his staff. "Oh, no you don't!"

Jack groaned. "Bunny, its winter! I have a job to do!" he said, exasperated. Bunny waved Jack's staff tauntingly. "Ya shoulda thought about that before ya turned my Warren into a Winter Wonderland! Now clean it up, or yer not getting this back!" Bunny huffed, gesturing with Jack's staff.

"I can't melt snow! I'm a winter spirit!" Even as he said it, Jack knew it was useless. Bunny was extremely determined-no, stubborn-and wouldn't be changing his mind anytime soon.

He was right. Two hours later, Jack was wiping frozen beads of sweat off his forehead as he shoveled the last bit of snow into a bucket. He'd worked hard. All the eggs were repainted, the snow was gone, and the dye rivers were thawing out.

Sighing, Jack yelled behind him, "That's everything!" Bunny marched over to him, staff in hand, saying, "That's for me to decide, ya bloody showpony." Bunny looked around at his Warren approvingly, and then to Jack, who was just about melting."Yer free to go," he said gruffly, handing out Jack's staff to him.

Immediately Jack was off. He was way overdue for a blizzard in the more southern parts of the world.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

As he passed over the equator, he made a trail of snow clouds. Although the cold, crisp breeze that always accompanied him was present, he still found himself wiping away the sweat that fell onto his brows.

He landed in the southeast part of the states. Personally, he didn't care much for geography, but he was pretty sure he was in Tennessee. Or North Carolina. Somewhere around there.

Anyway, he landed on one of the low hanging branches of a tree, contemplating what he could get away with. He didn't spend much time in the southern parts of the world, so he didn't have much to go on. Based off what he'd heard about southerners, he was expecting them to be wearing cowboy hats.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realize that he wasn't sweating anymore until he'd jumped down, causing a large amount of snow to fall on top of him.

Oh. Snow? Jack was fairly certain he hadn't caused this to happen, yet there he was, standing in the middle of a snow covered field. A bit aways, Jack could see a lake freezing over rapidly. Snow swirled around a figure in the air, but Jack couldn't see anything beyond that.

He called on the wind as the snowstorm grew stronger around him and crouched behind a bush in case whoever was causing this wasn't friendly. He could tell it was a girl, or maybe a guy with super long hair, but probably a girl. She was petite, and young, maybe a bit older than him. She was above the lake, making strange movements with her hands, as if commanding the storm with her arms the way Jack did with his staff. She paused for a moment, then disappeared.

Jack was really very confused. He craned his neck, trying to see where she'd gone, but to no avail. His eyes lingered a minute longer, but she was gone.

The thing is, Jack wasn't very good at leaving things alone. He was too curious, and this curiosity would lead to the biggest mistake of his-okay, maybe not his life, but the biggest mistake of the week, at least. Trying to keep the snow from crunching loudly under his feet, Jack snuck closer to the lake. The snowstorm began to dissipate, and the world was deathly quiet.

"What are you staring at?"

Jack yelped and fell over, tripping over his hiding bush. The girl was looking at him strangely. Jack, however, was glaring at her. "What is it with people sneaking up on me creepily?!" he demanded. The girl looked pretty disgruntled. "I wasn't the one hiding behind shrubbery!" she exclaimed.

Jack was suddenly very interested in his shoes-except that he didn't have any. So, instead, he changed the subject. "What's your name?"

"...that's pretty personal."

"What? What's personal about that?"

"..."

Jack wasn't sure how to respond. This girl was freaking him out. Not to mention how she looked was startling, and this was coming from a friend of a giant anthropomorphic bunny.

She had long, white hair, like his. Well, sort of. It was a bit darker, but she still reminded him of a Disney princess...

She looked like a teenager, but he couldn't be sure. She was wearing baggy trousers-heck, he just refer to them as _trousers!?_ He felt old, but that's exactly what they looked like. She was also wearing heavy boots and a white Grecian style shirt, pinned up in short sleeves. It sounds like a strange combination, but it looked good on her.

Her eyes were the thing that stood out the most. They looked like they couldn't quite decide what colour to be. In the center they were light brown, that faded out to green and then blue.

Jack would have felt bad for staring, except that she was still staring at him. There was no attraction between them, only cautious observation.

"Jack Frost, right?" she asked. Jack nodded. "You know me? I don't think we've ever met," he said. The girl looked away. "I've seen you around," she muttered. Jack blinked, and then laughed. "Now who's spying!" he exclaimed. The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine. We're even." she responded, sticking out a hand to shake. Jack returned it.

"So, why can't you tell me your name?" Jack asked, once again being more curious than any winter spirit had any right to be. The girl paused, crossing her arms in thought. "I don't really use a name. Why would I need one if I don't talk to anyone?" she said. "Well, what am I supposed to call you? No one has ever spoken to you, ever? What's so personal about a name?" Jack protested. The girl rubbed her temples. "Geez, what's with all the questions?" she said agitatedly.

"I have more." Jack said, completely serious. The girl stared. "Well, let me answer them one at a time. My name is Dessa. Of course I talk to people, just not often. The last time I did was with the guardians of childhood, but it's been a whi-"

And that was when Jack's mind exploded, along with the girl's-er-Dessa's-ears.

"SERIOUSLY? You know the guardians?"

Dessa covered her ears as Jack screeched. "Yes! You too?" Jack gaped, eyes wide. "I _am_ a guardian!" he said excitedly. Dessa cocked her head in confusion. "Since when?"

"Seriously? You haven't heard? Pitch Black's attack on the kids?" Jack inquired. Dessa shifted uncomfortably. "I've been busy," she mumbled.

Jack wasn't finished. "So, you're a winter spirit, right! How do you know the guardians? Why haven't I heard of you before? How old are you?" He probably would've continued, but snow was flung in his face. He snarled, wiping it off. "Hey, what's the deal? I'm just curious!" He protested.

"Curiosity killed the cat's opportunity to avoid becoming a frozen block of ice," Dessa advised wisely.

"Ok, I'm really confused, and I want some answers." Jack said, finally returning to his old self. "Well, you're not going to get them from me." Dessa replied stubbornly. As Jack was thinking of a comeback, he heard a rumbling sound as a hole opened in the snow covered ground. Bunny hopped up and turned to face Jack. "Come on Frostbite, we need to-" Bunny suddenly cut off his sentence as he spotted who Jack was next to. "Dessa?" Bunny asked in disbelief.


	2. Chapter 2: Explanations

**First** **off, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for waiting so long to edit. I know that a lot of you know what it feels like to not fit in. I'm not here to depress you, so I won't give the details of what I'm going through. Just please know that I feel extremely guilty for quitting so early in the game. I will try my best to update regularly now, but I can't promise that it'll be constant. But enough of that. I don't want this to get too depressing. On to the chapter!**

Bunny's face scrunched up in disgust. "What are you doing here?" he said accusingly. Iridessa sighed, pointing to the falling snow. Jack was utterly confused. In fact, in that moment, if you looked up 'confused' in the dictionary, it would show his face.

"Bunny, what's going on?" Jack asked. He was ignored. "I was right, wasn't I?" Iridessa broke the awkward silence. The lack of response was her answer. "I'm coming with you." At that, Bunny found his voice. "Oh, no, you don't. This is strictly Guardian business." he said rudely. Jack, still very much confused, sensed a fight coming on and stepped in front of them. "Bunny, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!" Jack jumped back at the sudden fierceness in the Pooka's voice. "This Sheila here is causing problems again and now it's finally come back to bite her!" Bunny yelled.

Iridessa's eyes turned cold as a glacier. "This problem is the result of your own stubbornness, so don't fool yourself that it's _my_ fault." Jack intervened. "Would someone please tell me what's going on?!" He nearly shouted. Iridessa's gaze softened as she turned to him. "We can discuss it at the pole. Cmon, we shouldn't wait too much longer. If what I think is happening is true, we have little time to spare." Without another word, she called on the wind, sending them all away to the North Pole.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

To say that North was confused would be an understatement. Bunny had arrived at the pole through the window, looking very angry with Jack Frost and Dessa in tow.

"Would someone please explain what's going on to me?" He said, staring at a very disgruntled bunny for explanations. "Don't look at me, mate. I just found these two drongos in Georgia, talking." Bunny responded. Jack looked at a loss for words, eyes comically wide and mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Not too surprisingly, it was Dessa who answered. "It would seem as though Khione is up to her old tricks. I did warn you this would happen."

North couldn't disagree. He winced, remembering the most recent encounter with the winter spirits.

"Who's Khione?" Jack asked, curiosity overcoming his shock. Dessa sent a glare in his direction. "Khione is her-" Bunny started, but cut himself off as Dessa's glare turned to him and intensified.

A sudden crash interrupted the intense moment, for which Jack was grateful for. The cause of the sound, a yeti that had knocked over a China doll, looked up sheepishly. "Ah, Steve." North said, also secretly grateful for the distraction. "What is it you are in such big hurry for?" After a combination of grunts and other unintelligible sounds, North nodded in understanding. "Well then, lead them here."

Almost immediately, a flash of green and gold flew in, almost colliding with the wall. "Sandy, Tooth." North acknowledged the two other guardians. "We saw the lights. Is something wrong?" Bunny rolled his eyes. "No, Sheila, we were just having a friendly get-together."

"It appears that ice is acting on its own now. It's spreading, freezing entire cities. Trapping schools full of children inside." North supplied. Dessa snorted. "Do you really thing its natural?" She scoffed. "Do you really believe that no ones causing this intentionally?"

"Well, not really. That's why we called in on our resident frost dude." Bunny retorted. Jack stepped back. "Do you really think I would hurt kids?" He asked, his mask slipping on to hide that he was hurting.

Dessa turned to him, her eyes sympathetic and kind. "No, Jack. They just assumed that you would know what was causing it, being a winter spirit. Of course, you wouldn't, as they know very well." She said, facing the guardians accusingly.

"Uh, I think Sandy wants to say something." Jack said, looking at the short guardian who was waving his arms around maniacally. _Thank you,_ Sandy thought. Geez, he'd been trying to get their attention for almost five whole paragraphs now. A sand arrow pointed at Dessa, followed by a brain, and then an ear. Obviously confused, Dessa translated for the guardians. "Thanks, Sandy. He's right, I know what I'm talking about. So listen up. " she said.

 **What do you guys think? Too short? I'm still thinking of ideas for this story, so feel free to PM me or suggest plot ideas in the reviews. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Family Visit

**Me: Sorry! I kinda took my time on this due to...ah...unfortunate circumstances not under my control.**

 **Annoying younger sister: She means she got herself grounded.**

 **Me: UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES!**

 **Sister: *sing-songy voice* Grounded!**

 **Me: *bangs head on laptop* Ugh... *muttering darkly about evil sisters***

 **Shoutout to those who followed! Thank you so much! You honestly made my day! On with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RotG...excuse me while I cry about it...**

Dessa cleared her throat. "I hate to say I told you so-"

"No you don't," Bunny muttered. Dessa scowled. "But I did try to warn you." She continued. North intervened. "You did try to side with her, so we didn't accuse you without reason, Dess." Dessa took a calming breath. "You're right, you just did it without facts," she said.

"Wait, I thought...what?" Jack said, obviously still confused. Tooth decided to step in. "Sweet tooth, how old are you?" She asked, not unkindly. "Um, 300 years old, give or take a decade." he responded.

"Khione is a goddess, not the heavenly nice kind either," North supplied. Bunny released a harsh laugh. "That's an understatement, mate. She's been around since Greek times, freezing everything she can get her dirty hands on." Dessa sighed in exasperation. "Thank you for that, Bunny. Now, as I was saying, Jack is confused about the history of how you know her, what trouble she's caused, right, Jack?" **(If you're a fan of the Percy Jackson series, review!)**

Jack nodded fervently. Dessa hummed. "Where to begin," she muttered. She sighed. "Khione is heartless. She's the daughter of Boreas, Greek god of the north wind. Khione is the goddess of snow. A few thousand years ago, she got bored. As a minor goddess, she's always craved power. She wanted to be respected. So naturally, she decided to create the next ice age. But, you know, that's what you got to do when you want to be believed in." She added this last bit full of sarcasm.

A sudden yelp from a certain bunny made everyone turn their head. Bunny rubbed his head where a bouncy ball hit him. The offending ball rolled on the floor. "Sandy, what the heck, mate?" Sandy looked agitated, obviously wanting to be heard-er-seen.

A snowflake, an arrow pointing to Jack, and a question mark appeared in golden sand over his head. Jack's eyes widened in realization. "I saw something like that on my way to Douglessville. It was this town, completely frozen. I thought it was just a flash freeze, but...JAMIE!" he yelled, worried for his surrogate younger brother.

"There is a way we might be able to stop this. Go to the source." Dessa said, reluctantly. Bunny stood up. "Oh, no, you don't, Sheila. You can't trick us. You'll try to trap us," he said stubbornly. Tooth intervened. "Bunny, we don't have the full story. Can't we give her the benefit of the doubt? Besides, you can't let your personal issues cloud your judgement." Dessa looked at Tooth gratefully. "Jack, you know the best about kids and snow. It's your call." North said.

Jack gripped his staff tightly, a fierce look in his eyes. "Lets go," he said. "To the sleigh!" North yelled. Bunny groaned.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

All but the two winter spirits were shivering violently as they jumped off the sleigh into the icy tundra. Jack looked at the large ice castle that reminded him strangely of a Disney movie...

They walked down the icy hall, Jack taking note of the lack of decoration. He looked at Dessa, somehow drawn to her beautiful blue eyes, the way her hair cascaded down her waist... Dessa and Jack suddenly kissed, hugging each other as if just realizing they were always meant to be...

"JACK!" a voice yelled, shaking Jack out from his stupor. "What are you doing with your mouth?" Dessa asked, completely oblivious. Tooth snorted. **(Stop! Ok, let me interrupt the story real quick. This OC is not meant to represent me. At all. This is the 'parody' part of the story. I hate it when a writer pairs themselves with the main character drooling all over them. This is a mockery. So just pretend that after, 'they walked down the icy hall,' or whatever, after that isn't in the story. That was meant as a joke. Jack is not in love. Ok, resuming story...NOW!)**

The hall seemed cold in more ways then one. Jack couldn't help but wonder how someone could live here for thousands of years without going insane. When he voiced this, Dessa grimaced. "Who's to say she isn't?" She said.

North slipped, taking Bunny down with him. Bunny flailed about, searching for something to grab onto something, anything, to break his fall or grab onto. Well, almost anything. As he inadvertently grabbed Dessa in an unfortunate place, she smacked him so hard, he flew back, and ended up hitting the ground anyway. Her expression said, ' _I regret nothing'._ Bunny's expression, however, said either, _' I regret everything,_ or _'concussion...pain...'_ It was hard to tell.

They made their way into a large room, and, like everywhere else in the palace, was made entirely from ice. In the center back, a throne sat, with a girl in her late teens sat. (Maybe. It was hard to tell with immortals) The intricate detail of the throne was breathtaking in a dark, evilly way.

The girl had Raven black hair, a crown of snowflakes, and a long, Greek-style dress. Her almond shaped eyes were blue like Jack's, but without any of the warmth and friendliness. They radiated cold, calculating and analyzing Jack as if he were an interesting experiment. Jack disliked her instantly.

In front of her was a large, metal globe, much like the one in Pitch's lair. She was carefully icing over parts of it. Jack's heart caught in his throat. The ice was slowly covering Burgess, his home and where Jamie was.

"Get away from that!" He yelled, his voice catching as a thousand images crossed his mind, none of which he liked. He sent a blast of ice her way, gasping as she stopped it with just a flick of her hand. She laughed cruelly. "Sorry, Jack Frost," she said, somehow not sounding sorry at all. He stood paralyzed. He recognized that voice.

Upon closer inspection, he recognized her, too. She was the one who had visited him, once in his 300 years of solitude, offering a chance to join her. It hadn't ended well. He still had nightmares about it.

In a fury, he attacked her. Sending ice shards her, way, he got a major blast of deja vu. Exactly what happened last time. She anticipated the move, dodging and aiming the essence of ice at him. He felt it hit his abdomen, feeling freezer burn in a sharp pain for the second time in his life. He fell to his knees.

Bunny growled and shouted. "No one gets away with hurting him!" He yelled, running for the goddess. Tooth flew to Jack at top speed, asking if he was alright. North sprinted to the globe, trying to prevent the ice from spreading while aiming pointless blows at Khione. Dessa stepped in front of Jack and Tooth, trying to protect them as Khione prepared another blow.

Khione stopped as she saw Dessa, a cruel smirk making its way onto her face. Dessa didn't hesitate, sending a whirlwind of circling ice at Khione. Just before it hit her, Dessa gasped in pain, her ice falling to the ground as her back arched and she fell to the floor. An inch from it, she froze. Literally. She was just hovering over the ground, stopped in suspended time. Frost covered herin jagged, sharp patterns.

Khione laughed at the outraged shouts of the guardians. "Long time, no see, Jack. Guardians." She said. The other guardians looked at Jack in surprise. Khione's smile widened. "Oh, didn't you tell them Jack?" She asked, amusement and mirth covering her features. "Thank you for delivering my sister to me, I've been trying to track her down for a while."

 **Ha! Cliffhanger! Sorry, not sorry. Read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Plan B

**Yeah, okay. Sorry for that last cliffhanger. Well, not really. (Insert diabolical laughter here) However, I am pretty sorry about the wait between my updates. Fall break is my main excuse, but I went to Disney World, so I regret nothing. There's just so many ideas I could do, and I don't know how to do them! Buuuut I'll do my best. Also, I was busy cuz it was my birthday! ;)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Rotg. As of this time.**

 **Guardians: HAHAHA YOU WILL NEVER OWN US**

 **Me: Aw, come on! I put it on my Christmas list! North!**

 **North: Tough.**

 **Me: *pouty face* Fine. I don't own RotG.**

Jack stood in shocked silence. Dessa was _related_ to this _demon?!_ Randomly, he felt better about his own sucky life. He was brought back to the present as the globe continued to freeze, as did Dessa. He ran over to her, but her eyes were scrunched up in pain. He looked up at Khione with eyes of hatred.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice a bit shaky. Khione flashed her brilliant smile, but malice shown in her gaze. "That's none of your concern," she said sweetly. But that didn't keep it from being sick. "We have more important things to discuss. Where did you meet her?"

Tooth fluttered frantically, pushing her fellow guardians out of the way until she got to Jack. "Jack, what's happening to Dessa?" She whispered in his ear. "I don't know." he replied. "Answer me!" Khione's voice rang out, high pitched and impossibly loud in the silence.

"Why do you want to know?" "Why should we tell you?" Both Jack's and Bunny's voice sounded unnaturally aggressive. Unfortunately, Khione decided to answer Bunny's. "Because if you don't, there won't be an Iridessa to discuss." She said, her icy words reflecting the cruel smirk she wore. Suddenly Dessa gasped and tensed incredibly. Her shoulders locked up, her legs straightened, and her head was thrown back.

Jack cried out in alarm. "You can't do that!" He yelled, and almost had to hold Bunny back from nearly attacking Khione. Bunny took one look at Dessa and rushed off to her aid. Khione seemed to draw strength from this. "I can do whatever I want. This is my kin, my sister. Oh, and I'm also a goddess, sooo...yeah."

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" Jack asked. "Why do you hate Dessa so much? Siblings are supposed to love each other, and go ice skating, and get into trouble together, and-and go through heck and back for each other!" His voice broke on this bit, remembering his own sister from so long ago, fighting the heat gathering behind his eyes.

Khione's glare intensified, darkening her eyes to a color more like black. "I suppose the guardians didn't tell you, did they? Or did they just not bother to find out for themselves?" This received blank looks from all the guardians, and Dessa clenched her teeth, as if exasperated even in her painful state.

Khione's eyes glimmered, a strange, sadistic glint. "After the dark ages ended, I was furious. My apprentice, Pitch Black, was overcome by these clowns and I was left without the belief. Or fear, which was much more devastating for me. I vowed to frighten even the bravest people into belief. Because even if you aren't afraid of nightmares, all adults are afraid for their loved ones when death is knocking.

So I unleashed my wrath on them. They shivered, dying of hypothermia and frostbite, and that's not all. Winter affects livestock, too. They died of starvation and exhaustion trying to support their families. You say siblings should support and care for each other, Jack Frost. When she found out, Iridessa turned on me. She deserted me, sabotaging all of my glorious work. Had it not been for her, I would've succeeded. And so I vowed revenge. And now I have it."

Jack looked at all the guardians, trying to convey one word: Retreat. Jack waved his staff and sent a huge wave of dry ice and made it thick enough to create a diversion. He ran back to the other guardians, and Bunny made a grab for Dessa and began carrying her bridal style.

Jack heard a metallic _whoosh_ like a sword being drawn, and unfortunately it came from Khione's direction. It was only because of the light reflecting off of the icy blade that he narrowly dodged the projectile.

But he forgot about the other guardians. He heard a grunt from North but they kept running. They finally got to the hall, but Bunny and North slipped and slid. Jack screamed, "Hold on!" before tearing off a huge chunk of ice from the wall and pushed the guardians onto it, catapulting them down the icy floor.

They rode the make shift sled all the way through the castle until coming to a stop near the sled. Bunny immediately said, "Meet me at the pole," before opening a tunnel and jumping down, Dessa still in tow.

The others didn't argue, quickly climbing into the sled and disappearing into a tunnel. Jack got one last glimpse at the enraged look on Khione's face as she chased them down.

And then she was gone.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Steve the yeti was not impressed. North had left him to deal with a screaming anthropomorphic rabbit and a winter spirit that looked out for blood.

He was interrupted by a swirling vortex, which revealed Jack Frost, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, and Santa. North came up to Steve and asked, "Where are Dessa and Bunny? I would have thought they'd be here already." Then a yell penetrated the room, coming from behind a door. Another scream responded, almost unintelligible by the sheer loudness of it.

Steve looked at him like, 'does that answer your question?' With a grave look on his face, North led the other guardians to the room where Dessa and Bunny were screaming their lungs out at each other.

They head a word that word be burned in their memory forever. A voice that sounded like Dessa's screamed, "WHAT?!"

The door was suddenly thrown open, making Jack jump back three feet. Dessa stormed out dramatically, stomping loud enough to be heard from the South Pole. Bunny stood behind, looking a little scared. There was silence for a count of five, before Jack asked, "Alright, Kangaroo. What did you do?"

Bunny pinned Jack with a death glare. "Me?! She's the one that-I mean-ARGH! Never mind." He grumped. "What did you say?" Jack asked, truly curious. Bunny scowled, then beckoned Jack forward. Jack leaned in and Bunny whispered something into his ear. Jack's eyes widened and his mouth hung down in shock.

"Really, fluffy? I mean, I knew you two didn't get along, but do you have a death wish or something?" Bunny whacked Jack on the head, just hard enough to hurt at the new nickname.

"Why? What did he say?" Tooth asked. Jack repeated it to Tooth in a conspiring whisper. Tooth face palmed. "Bunny, never, EVER, say that to a girl unless you wish to be burned at the stake." she said, completely serious. "Come on, whatever it is, it cannot be _that_ bad." North said.

Jack again whispered what Bunny said to Dessa.

North stared at Bunny for about three seconds before saying, "You should run."

Jack decided to check on Dessa. She was fuming, asking a random elf for surgical tools. "Scalpel." She said, working on some sort of camera-flashlight contraption. The elf happily handed it to her. Why North equipped elves with then, Jack had no idea, but one problem at a time.

"Hey, Dessa?" Jack began. Dessa 'hmm'ed in response. "Whatcha making?" he asked cautiously. "Oh, a couple things. Right now, I'm making a taser." She said this a little too happily for Jack's taste. Her maniac, diabolical smile made Jack very happy that he wasn't her target.(Really quick, this OC was based off a delightful friend of mine. Hope she approves!)

"Jiggle, could you get me a nerf gun and some gasoline?" Dessa asked the elf casually. He saluted and ran off. "The elf's name is Jiggle?" Jack asked. "Heck, I don't know. I just gave him a random elf-y name." Dessa said.

"Could you grab some spaghetti from the kitchen?" Dessa looked towards Jack, eyes glinting evilly. "What do you need spaghetti for?" Jack asked, a little scared of the answer. "My spaghetti powered thermic lance." she answered simply. "Yeah, about that." Jack began. "Do you think you could maybe...not make that?"

Dessa's eyes sparkled dangerously. They seemed to scorch Jack's soul. He almost wanted to shrink and ask her to stop, complain that her eyes hurt, and wear sunglasses. "Um, you might want to calm down there. Your lookin' just a teeny bit murderous." he said carefully.

"Am I?" Dessa asked.

And that's when Jack decided to leave.

Once back inside the main room, Jack turned to Bunny. "Bunny," he said gravely. "If you have any sense of self preservation, I suggest you run fast as heck. She's got a taser." Bunny looked fearful for his life. "Where?" He asked. He looked so pathetic and terrified that Jack took pity on him.

"Listen, I have a few 'in hiding' places, and I'll take you to one if you explain a few things to me." He said, oh so generously. Bunny quickly nodded, and Jack grabbed a snow globe, whispering, "Cathedral, Alaska." And they disappeared.

 **Oh, and another thing. I was writing this when I could have been reading 'The Trials of Apollo: Book II' so...review.**


	5. Chapter 5: I Really Hate Avalanches

**Okay, can I complain for a second? I had a string of crappy days, and I'm ready to scream, 'I give UP!' and beat a cake into a pancake. I** ** _really_** **want to go jump on a building and use the person responsible for this crap as a stunt cushion. If they spontaneously combusted, you wouldn't be hearing any complaints from me. But, I'm trying to take some deep breaths and cool it. I'll try to keep to the plotline I first thought of, but I can't promise it won't be slightly angry.**

 **Disclaimer: ok, I don't own RotG. There! Is that what you wanted to hear?! *sniffs***

Bunny didn't expect to reappear next to a cliff. He yelped and scrambled backwards, barely avoiding a free trip down a mountain, without needing to rent expensive skis. He turned around to glare at Jack. Jack laughed nervously. "Sorry, kangaroo. I forgot you can't fly."

Bunny huffed and swung his paw towards Jack's head. Jack ducked and quickly flew just above reach, leading Bunny into a stone building on the flatter top of the snow capped mountain. The place was coming apart at the seams, but it held as they walked in. It was freezing. Bunny shivered violently. "Frostbite, I don't get how you handle this. It's bloody freezing!" Jack winced. "Sorry, I don't really need a heat source. I'm a winter spirit."

Bunny blew warm air into his paws. "Really? Winter spirit or not, how do you deal with this cold?" Jack gave him a deadpanned look. "Bunny, I _am_ the cold." Bunny nearly tripped on a patch of ice, and Jack suddenly took a sharp turn down another hallway. "But you still feel the cold, right? I mean, it doesn't bother you, but you feel it?" Jack scratched the back of his neck nervously. "That's right. It doesn't bother me."

"Ya sure? Ya seem a little uncertain." Jack slipped on an easy smile, making it look like he was completely fine. He'd had 300 years to perfect it. "Of course, Plushie! The cold never bothered me anyway!" Bunny snarled. "Jack, I'm never letting you watch a Disney again."

Jack came to rest in a large room, with a hearth the size of a king sized bed and some wood in the corner. Jack got busy, picking up the wood and placing it in the hearth. He grabbed a dust coated matchbox from on top of the hearth and struck a match, looking at it in wonder for a moment before placing it in the wood.

The fire started, growing quickly. Jack jumped back, eyes wide. Bunny stared at him. "Thank you, Frostbite." He said softly. He hopped towards the growing fire and put forth his paws to warm them. Jack pulled up a block of ice to about 10 feet from the fire.

"So?" Jack asked expectantly. Bunny sighed. He could tell he would regret this. "So, Jackie? How much do you know about Greek Mythology?" Jack furrowed his brows. "The twelve Olympians, some myths, a few monsters. I've read about it some." Bunny looked down. "So, you know that Khione is a goddess, and Dessa is her sister. They are both daughters of Boreas, the God of the North Wind."

"Wait, Dessa is a goddess?" Bunny chuckled. "Not quite. Ya see, Boreas along with most other deities in Greek myths fall in love with mortals and mythical creatures. Dessa's mother was a Nereid, a water spirit. But Khione and Dessa were very close. The thing about Greek gods is that they don't hang around long. When Dessa's mother died, she was alone. Khione took her in, and they played together all the time. When she grew up, she could choose to stay at her age. One of the perks of having a Nereid as a mother, I guess. She became an immortal, but not a goddess."

Jack was confused. "You did that, too, right?" "Almost," Bunny answered. "We were both chosen by Man in the Moon, but she isn't a guardian. She-she actually changed quite a lot since I've seen her. She used to have ivory hair, with no streaks in it. Her cloak was icy, water and winter combining. She was a huntress, wearing a cloth around her mouth and pretty darn skilled with a bow. She had a circlet, a lot like Khione's."

Jack thumped one of Bunny's ears with his thumb. "Stay with me, Bunny. You're zoning out." Bunny shook his head. "Am not!" He said defensively. Jack rolled his eyes. "Cmon, Bunny, you're being...being...OH MY GOSH!"

"What?! What is it?!" Bunny yelped, pulling out his boomerangs. Jack's eyes were wide. "You...you and Dessa..you DATED her?!" Bunny snarled. "Yeah, snow cone. We dated." Jack seemed to malfunction. "Great job, now he's broken." Bunny said to himself. "But...bu-but...you're _old!"_ Bunny rolled his eyes at Jack's lack of maturity and put his boomerangs away.

"In human years, I'm physically 19, and Dessa's 16. We were both around 200 when MiM chose us." Jack tried to process this. "Wha-what happened?" Bunny sighed. "Khione happened. She tore us apart. We started fighting about her sister. I... I said some things I regretted. I accused her of trying to end the world, bring on another ice age. Then I told her that Khione was evil, and she hated me. I didn't know until today that she didn't actually do anything I accused her of and actually stopped Khione."

"And then I knew, and I felt like the devil. She and Khione had been so close, it must have torn her apart to fight her." Bunny stopped. "Jack," he started cautiously. "Why is there a saber on the wall?" Jack barely glanced at the saber before he grinned wide.

"300 years is entirely too long to be unproductive with your time." He responded. "Holdup, Frosty. You telling me that you know how to use that?" Bunny asked. Jack's smile grew. "Along with martial arts, rapier, estoc, backsword, to name a few." Bunny gawked for a few seconds before proclaiming that they had to find out who was better.

They walked out happily, Jack assuring Bunny that the fire would burn out when it ran out of wood, as the stone building provided it no fuel. Bunny was struck with realization. "Popsicle?" Jack hummed in response. "How are we gonna get back to the pole?

Jack stopped. "Whoops," he said. He patted down his pockets. There was no sign of the snow globe. Bunny sniffed and tested his tunnels. He jumped down one and was spit out a few feet away. Unfortunately, it was a few feet over the cliff side. "Crap," Jack said as Bunny screamed. He was going to ride the wind and help Bunny out, but he was knocked to the ground by a blur of white and blue.

"Jack," said Dessa. "Kindly tell me where Bunny is so I can tase the eggs out of him." Jack pointed over the edge. Dessa's eyes widened as she saw Bunny. She dove over the side, and Jack followed. No one realized that the disruption had caused the snow to shift.

Dessa caught up to Bunny, and attempted to grab his paw. He slowed a bit, enough for Jack to catch up. Their combined pull gave Bunny enough stability to be lifted onto an icy ledge. He gasped for air, looking at the almost 80 ft drop below. He shivered, and said, "I could've died." Jack tried to lift the mood. "Not really. Roughed up a bit, yeah, but you'd have made it. Besides, there's just snow down there. Makes a good crash landing." Bunny looked at him scrutinizingly. "And you know this _how?"_ Jack put up hands in surrender.

"Hey, Kangaroo, you don't just _get_ this graceful and awesome. It takes practice. Just don't tell Tooth." Dessa smiled, but her eyes were burning. "Right now, I'm just glad you're alright, but why the heck are you so stupid?!" She hugged him fiercely. Bunny was surprised, but he hugged her back.

But he heard it first. A low rumble came from above, the sound of tons of snow about to come crashing down. "What's that noise?" Jack coughed. "Sorry, I'm a little hungry." Bunny shrugged him off. "Not you. Up there." Those with normal human hearing strained their ears. They heard it.

"Jack, fly!" Dessa cried. She shoved Bunny towards Jack and started to lift him far away from the avalanche. Snow was pouring down, coming at them at full speed. It was almost upon them. With one more firm shove, Dessa shoved Bunny away and sent a torrent of wind to push them farther out. It was cut off as the snow descended on her, swallowing her up.

"No! No!" Bunny yelled. He fought against Jack, struggling and kicking. He screamed in agony, a look of pain on his face. Jack was literally holding him back, trying to get him safely to the ground. His face was contorted with constrained sadness. Bunny was still screaming. "Dessa! DESSA!" "Bunny, wait." Jack said.

"No!" Bunny kept kicking and screaming. "You have to stay here." Jack lowered Bunny to the ground, exhausted from carrying the writhing Bunny 80 ft. The snow crashed down violently, and angry tears escaped Bunny's eyes.

"NO!"

 **Hope that worked. It's pretty late, so sorry about any grammatical errors. Review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Death By Foam Ammo

**So I was going to work on the next chapter for 300 Years Alone, but I'm too happy to write something depressing. Based off a true story! Er, not the avalanche part.**

 **Disclaimer: I am so happy right now that I won't even complain about not owning RotG:)**

Dessa couldn't breath. She couldn't see. She couldn't escape.

She felt smothered, the ice rough on her, like a cheese grater to the spine. It had pushed the air out, and she was trying not to gasp in the snow. She shifted, and pain shot through her like an arrow.

She could hear a constant rumble, but it was fuzzy, as if she were underwater. She was going down, and she couldn't get out. She needed to _breathe._

Just when her lungs felt like bursting, the snow settled. Arms trembling, she pushed it aside and packed it stiff, freezing it in place. She opened her eyes, but it didn't help much. As dark as it was, at least she could see the tiniest bit better. But she still couldn't breathe.

The edges of her vision turned red, and then purple, and then green. She gasped for air, but there was none. Her head felt too tight, and began spinning. And without air, she couldn't even make a sound. She couldn't think straight, and she raised a weak arm to the snow, just trying to escape.

She didn't even realize she was dropping her head.

And she blacked out.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Jack watched sadly as his surrogate older brother clawed around the snow, searching for Dessa. When he had torn himself from the winter spirit's grasp, Jack had been so terrified that Bunny, too, would be lost in the snow. He'd frozen a good portion of it to prevent it from crashing down on the frantic Pooka, but it was still unstable.

The poor boy was drained from holding Bunny back, carrying him safely down, and stopping the avalanche. As much as he wanted to find Dessa, it was all he could do to keep from passing out.

He blamed himself. If he hadn't forgotten the magic banishing stuff, or told Bunny that his tunnels wouldn't work here, it wouldn't have happened. Monks had gathered here in ancient times, using some rituals to keep unwanted magic out. Bunny wouldn't be able to use his tunnels, and the snow globe disintegrated.

But the look on Bunny's face was tortured. If anyone blamed themselves more, it was Bunny.

(Bunny's POV)

It was all my fault. Dessa was in there because I couldn't save her. Just like my entire family, my race, my first crush as a young pooka. They were all dead because of me. I'd been popular, strong, a protector. I'd been about to ask my crush out. And then the fearlings attacked. I was the only survivor, but I didn't deserve it. Not when their death was my fault.

The past was repeating itself, except now at the hands of an avalanche. It should have been me. Dessa was in there somewhere, hurt or worse. _No,_ I told myself. _She_ has _to be ok._

I'd started out looking for her scent. Problem was, she smelled exactly like all the snow. I caught a small bit of blood. That didn't make me feel any better. I stopped trying to look for her scent, and desperately tore apart all the snow I could get my paws on, calling her name. Finally, about two minutes later, I smelled blood very strongly.

I went towards it, and I uncovered chocolate streaks against ivory hair. I dug around her, and pulled her out. She was inside a small hollow, so I got her out fairly quickly. She was unconscious, and I realized she wasn't breathing.

Jack walked over feebly and put his hand above her mouth. His eyes went wide, and he pushed her chest up and down. She suddenly gasped, taking in rattling breaths. She had a long gash on her upper back, beside her shoulder. She was bleeding from it, but didn't appear to be in immediate danger.

I hugged her against my chest. And I felt tears against my cheek. Whether of relief or sadness or guilt, I wasn't sure. My shoulders shook, and I was barely keeping from crying out.

Jack was sympathetic. He put a hand on my shoulder, and he waited for a while with me before leading me away from the scene, Dessa still in my arms.

When we were far away enough for me to use my tunnels, I went to the first place I thought of: where I met Dessa. It was much farther south than you'd expect a winter spirit to hang out, but far enough from the equator that there was snow. I met her while I was hiding Easter eggs.

She loved to watch the children play in the country, and that's where I found her. She was sitting on a hay bell and kept me talking to her for a solid hour before I finally left. Now, I waited for her to wake. Jack and I rested as the adrenaline rush wore off. After what seemed like forever, Dessa's eyes fluttered. She woke, but looked exhausted.

I laughed and cried and hugged her. I was almost euphoric, just seeing her alive and awake. She smiled tiredly and said one word. "Sleep." And I let her sleep.

We all slept, until sunrise a few hours later. She looked much better then. We stared at the hay bells and got the same idea. We sat on them, Dessa laying her head on my shoulder. Not quite ready to leave, we let Jack go and alert the others. He agreed not to tell them where we were, but to grab some food and medical supplies.

Dessa apparently thought that me worrying about her was stupid. "Cmon, don't you trust me? It takes more than my own element to take me down." she assured me. And to keep me from doing that ever again, she grabbed a fistful of hay and threw it in my face.

i narrowed my eyes and smiled. "Oh, it's on," I said. I grabbed hay and sprinkled her in it. She pulled some out of her now hay covered hair and threw it at me. It went back and forth like that, each of us trying to one up the other. Finally, she grabbed a child's nerf gun that had been left outside and pulled the trigger.

At the last second, I ducked and grabbed my own nerf weapon of doom. We shot foam ammo and snatched them from the ground just as quickly. She squealed and went behind a hay bell. We were both laughing and shooting, having so much fun that Jack could probably feel it. And I never wanted it to end.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Jack smiled. He had gotten back almost ten minutes ago, but the couple seemed so happy that he was reluctant to tell them he had breakfast, or was even there. He was happy that the pooka he considered a brother was acting like a love-struck idiot. Whether they realized it or not, they were flirting. And they were perfect for each other.

Jack finally gave them breakfast, which was blueberry muffins and slightly frozen milk, and told them how hard Tooth had tried to pry their location out of him. He didn't give in, but discreetly grabbed bandages and healing salves and flew back.

Dessa was hurt, tired, and barely eating. But she was alive. And if she could make Bunny happy, Jack was going to be happy for him, and also he totally shipped them.

 **Ok, ok. I didn't like the first part either. Too depressing. But, it was a bit necessary. And I like Bunny and Dessa flirting more! Today was awesome, so I'm really happy right now. Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7: Death By Even Worse-Math!

**Gotta be honest, this is my second favorite writing prompt so far. First place goes to 'Death By Foam Bullets' b/c it was real(other than the avalanche part and the anthropomorphic bunny) and it made me so very happy. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own my insanely amazing writing skills;) but not RotG**

Jack was freaking out a little. He'd wanted to go check on Jamie, especially after the incident with Khione. However, North didn't want him to go alone on the chance that he might see Khione and have to fight. But no one could leave until morning in order for Dessa and Bunny to rest.

He was pacing. He pulled at his hair, anxious for time to speed up. Bunny noticed from the couch and smile tiredly. "You're gonna go bald if you keep that up," he joked. "Take a nap, we still have a few hours and you're exhausted." Jack just sighed, exasperated. "Jamie could be hurt, or frozen, or within the grips if a psycho ice lady, and you want me to _nap?!"_

Bunny nodded. "You're no use to Jamie half asleep. You can't beat Khione without help. You might as well." Bunny caught sight of a short, yellow guardian tip toeing into the room behind Jack. Jack tried to follow his eyes, so Bunny distracted him.

"Besides, Khione won't hurt Jamie yet. She'll probably try to use the ankle biters as a bargaining chip, but we have the advantage. Jamie's a believer, so he can help out the other kids. He's smart, too. He'll be safe." Bunny tried to reassure Jack. But he wouldn't budge. "We need to get there as quick as possible." he argued.

Bunny rolled his eyes and gestured to Sandy to hit Jack with dreamsand. "If you guys would just wake Dessa, we could go! Grab a granola bar, eat on the way, because we need to-". Jack was suddenly cut off as the dreamsand hit him. He stayed awake just long enough to glare at Sandy before slumping over and passing out on the couch.

Bunny smiled victoriously and repositioned Jack into a more comfortable position and held him in a brotherly hug.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

They actually had a pretty hard time waking Jack up. No one really wanted to, he just looked so adorable. Asleep, all tension disappeared from his face. He snuggled closer into Bunny's fur wearing a small smile. It was amazing how childlike he looked without his usual protective stance, or guarded expression.

He also seemed happier with the dream of a little girl and him climbing a tree. A soft smile graced his face. You couldn't see his eyes, which were typically happy, but with a mysterious sadness, too. Eventually, though, they knew they had to wake him.

First Bunny tried. He shifted next to the winter spirit, and spoke to him. "Jackie, you need to wake up." Nothing. "Jack? Frostbite? Wake up." Nothing. Bunny raised his voice. "Wake up!" Nothing.

Next, Tooth tried. She just crooned, cooing over how adorable he looked. No one really noticed how he tensed just a bit. "Oh, he's just precious. Have you ever seen something so perfect? I especially love his-"

Sandy took over from there. He couldn't actually make a sound, but had lots and lots of practice trying to get peoples' attention. He tugged at Jack. Nada. He pushed him over and over, but Jack refused to stir. And honestly? His dreamsand was making everyone else tired. As Sandy pushed harder, Dessa replaced him before he had a chance to punch Jack.

Dessa tried putting snow in his shirt, before realizing that he was used to cold, so it was much more effective on, say, Bunny. She ended up getting pretty frustrated before grabbing a foghorn from behind the couch cushions and pressing the trigger.

An impossibly loud _BYOWWWW_ resonated through the room. It was bad enough for everyone else, but the compitition of who had it worst was between Bunny and Jack. While Bunny had highly sensitive ears, Jack had the foghorn pretty much _in_ his ear. He jumped up, screaming gibberish about crazy ice ladies chasing him.

"I wanted a turn!" North grumped. Jack cupped his ears with both hands. "Dude, what the heck?!" he yelled. He turned to glare at Dessa, who was whistling innocently and hiding the assault weapon back behind the cushions. "You could've just said please, I was awake!"

This received blank looks. Jack groaned in a very 'teenager-y' way. "I woke up when Tooth tried. What did you expect? I'm a light sleeper."

"Why do you even have a foghorn?" asked Jack. Dessa smirked. "This isn't the first time I've been to the pole." she said cryptically. Jack huffed in annoyance. "First off, I think I may have actually gone deaf. Second, you could at least tell me about your secret stashes. I mean, _hello!_ Fellow pranker here!"

Bunny blanched. The idea of Dessa and Jack combining forces was not a pleasant one. Oh, the horror. Tooth appeared next to Dessa holding a tray of burnt toast and black mush. Dessa jumped back, surprised that Tooth seemingly popped into existence. "Time for breakfast!" she said, shoving the steaming tray in Dessa' face with a wide smile.

Dessa blinked. Wide eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked from the tray to Tooth and back again. She took her seat as Tooth handed out plates. "Eat up!" she said enthusiastically. Jack poked his mush with a fork. "So," he started. "What's this?" Tooth smiled and laughed. "It's eggs, silly." she said as if it were obvious.

Bunny, who was seated next to Dessa, cut into the "eggs" cautiously. A dark, syrupy orange liquid spewed out, much too close too Dessa than preferred. She flinched back and fell out of her chair. Pulling herself up, she leaned to Jack. "Does Tooth know that lava is bad for out health?" she whispered conspiratorially. Jack smirked.

"Well, dig in!" Tooth said, impatient for the others to try her breakfast. Even Sandy seemed reluctant. North bravely picked up a forkful of toast and took a small bite. He smacked his lips. "Mmm." he said. "Very good, Tooth. If you'll all excuse me for a moment." He got up and walked calmly to a restroom, and odd, and frankly disturbing, noises were heard.

Sandy took some mush and blew on it vigorously. After most lava was turned to bubbly, black nuggets, he put it to his mouth. His features immediately scrunched up in disgust. He tightened his mouth and swallowed forcefully. He gave Tooth a weak smile and a thumbs up.

Bunny braced himself before eating the so-called eggs. His eyes widened and he felt it trying to force its way out. He tried to cover it up so as to not offend Tooth, and the result was a harsh, very awkward cough. It seemed his body's natural response was to regurgitate and burn it.

He looked over at the two winter spirits, who were barely keeping from laughing. He smirked and said, oh, so graciously, "Your turn." They shared a look that made him nervous. Jack spoke to Tooth. "Tooth, this looks delicious. I can't wait to eat it, but unfortunately..." Dessa picked up where Jack left off. "It's a bit hot, and being winter spirits, Jack and I will be forced to wait for it to cool off. Could we eat it on the way?"

Bunny didn't expect it to work. No one would believe that load of baloney! No one, that is, except for..

"Of course!" Tooth said.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

"Anyone who believes that stuff is edible is in denial, it was easy." Jack said as he dumped the last of his lava-eggs off the edge of the sleigh.

Bunny was not coping well. He already had airsickness, but the lava and burnt toast churning in his stomach was bordering traumatic. Tooth was almost a mile ahead, and Burgess was close by.

Bunny was too nauseous to grump, but otherwise he totally would have. Dessa was still snorting with laughter, affectionately patting Bunny's back in an attempt to comfort him. North saw this and gestured for Jack to come to him. "Are they courting yet?" he asked Jack. "Dating, North. And no, but just about. They just need a little more encouragement." Jack responded.

Jack's eyes widened as he took the reins from North, narrowly avoiding a particularly tall tree. He gave North a deadpanned look. "Eyes on the road, big guy," he said, handing the reins back to North. "There is no roads!" North protested.

"Just an expression." Jack spotted an old statue with Thaddeus Burgess and his family. He and the others landed where Tooth was waiting for them. Their mouths agape, they looked in horror at the damage Khione had done.

The entire city was plastered in ice. People were trapped in their homes, power lines were down, telephone lines dangled precariously in trees, and the roads were undrivable. Worry and fear gripped Jack's heart as he searched for Jamie. There was no telling how long it would take for help to arrive, and people were bound to run out of food soon.

Soon, they were all following Jack to Jamie's house, where Mrs. Bennett was frantically trying to call the school, as both her children were trapped there. Jack's worry increased. "Guys, we need to split up. Half of us need to look for Sophie, the rest of you come with me." he said. Bunny put his hands up. "Hold on, Frostbite. I know you're upset, but we shouldn't split up. What if we see Khione? We can't beat her without numbers."

Jack tugged at his hair anxiously. "We need to make sure they're both okay, now." Bunny shook his head. "That's how people die in horror movies! Evil Villain Defeating 101, never split up." he reasoned. "Sophie's the smaller one, right? Jamie and his friends believe?" Dessa asked.

"We should go to her first. She's younger, probably scared. Jamie has his friends, he'll be calmer and more clever. Can you show the way, Jack?" She asked in a calm voice.

Jack took a shaky breath and nodded. Numbly, he led the way to Sophie's Kindergarten. Bunny spotted her class and ran to it. It was empty.

He looked miserable. Jack knew how much he cared for little Sophie. "Wait, look." Bunny said. He perked up, seeing a class from across the hall led by a short African-American lady, probably the teacher, into another room. Their voices were muffled, but Bunny listened intently.

"What are they saying?" North asked. Tooth shushed him silently. Bunny strained his ears. "They're saying...that they need to go to the lunchroom and...be penguins? No, um, huddle _like_ penguins. Oh, crap." A kid pointed at them and shouted. Soon, all the kids were gaping at the guardians and shouting their names. Jack sighed, as none of the kids could see him.

But then he heard a voice. A small boy with a hat screamed, "It's Jack Frost! Sophie was right!" Kids started to see him, and he felt so elated that he didn't notice Dessa slinking back. He waved at the kids, and they waved back.

"What are you doing?" He shouted. "Miss Robinson is taking us to take naps and play games!" "My friends in the lunchroom!" "Going to get covers and nap time!" Kids shouted at him. The teacher, who was the only one who couldn't see the guardians, looked utterly confused. She hurried the kids away.

Bunny smiled at Jack. With a high-five, he congratulated Jack on getting more believers. "It's a good thing that Kindergarteners take blankets to school." North commented.

Trying to trust that, at least for now, Sophie was safe, they walked (or flew, whatever) to Jamie's school. Now in seventh grade, he was no longer the eight-year-old boy that helped defeat the boogeyman. He was almost Jack's age. (Okay, in this story, Jack is 14-15ish. Just go with it)

They were very surprised that, as opposed to the kindergarten taking shelter, the middle school had kids working. By back-up power, they could see worksheets in front of the kids. Faint light from back-up generators illuminated the rooms, revealing kids with heavy jackets on.

After a few checks, the guardians found the classroom that Jamie was located in. Luckily, that room had a window, and Jamie's friends took up most of the class. Jamie, who was sitting nearest to the window, spotted Jack first. His eyes widened in surprise, and then gestured toward the teacher with his head.

The teacher was a tall, thin man with a serious, condescending manner. He was at his desk, trying to get his computer to work. Jack waited, trying to get ideas on moving the teacher so that he and Jamie could talk. He didn't have too, because soon, the teacher stood up and addressed his class.

"I'm going to use the restroom and hope that the plumbing works. I trust that you won't all go crazy while I'm gone, given our present circumstances. I also expect you to keep working." And with that, he walked out.

Kids immediately got up and rushed to gossip about the strange weather with their friends. Things were chaotic enough that no one noticed Jamie's friends all run to the window and talk to the glass, not Jamie. "Jack, what's going on?" They whispered urgently. Jack shook his head. "I'll tell you later. Most important thing is, are you guys alright? And why the heck are you doing math?!"

The kids grunted in disgust. "Mr. Griffith thinks we should make the most of our time in this prison and graph polynomial or solve a systems of equations problem. I mean, why should I know how to substitute to find how many cupcakes to bring to a party?" Jack was revolted. "Isn't that algebra? In _middle school?!"_

The algebra victims nodded sadly. "We're in advanced classes, so we have to do stupid accelerated learning." They explained. Jack pantomimed gagging.

"Jack, stay on topic. We need to have our priorities straight." Tooth reprimanded. Jack looked scandalized. "My priorities are just fine, thank you! I am focusing most important matter, here!" Bunny rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic, Snowflake." Jack took this as his cue to be more dramatic and closed his eyes, clasping his hand to his heart.

"Math! Oh, the horror! It's slowly driving me into oblivion!" When this didn't get a reaction, he opened one eye. "I said,it's _slowly driving me to oblivion!"_ Winking at the middle schoolers. They got the message, and pretended to die dramatically. The rest of the class looked blankly at them, and they explained that they were suffering from mathecitus, a deadly disease. Soon, 28 kids were pretending to die.

They were all laughing hysterically, until Mr. Griffith walked back in. The students scrambled back into their seats, barely getting their in time. "Okay, guys." Mr. Griffith said, hands spread. "The plumbing does _not_ work." A resonating 'Eww' crossed the room.

Jamie wrote on his paper inconspicuously. It read, 'What's going on?' Jack thought about how to answer through the icy window that separated him and his favorite believer. "Does anyone have any paper?" He asked. No one did. He hummed, trying to figure how best to talk to Jamie. A light bulb went off in his head and he frosted over the window.

He wrote what was going on and explained the problems with Khione. This was very hard, since he had to write backwards so Jamie could understand it. Eventually, though, in painstaking slowness, Jamie understood.

He passed notes to his fellow believers, but Jack couldn't understand what they said. They were in little dots and dashes. 'Morse code. Less chance of being caught.' Jamie wrote on his worksheet for Jack to see. His friends saw the notes and translated them, looking like they were hard at work solving algebra. An excellent method.

They looked surprised. After all, finding two more winter spirits and an evil villain wasn't something you found everyday.

Suddenly the lights went out. Again. Jack's dry ice trick was used again, but not by him. The kids started screaming. The guardians yelped in alarm. They couldn't see anything! Jamie was looking around for the guardians, pressing his hands against the window. "Help!" he shouted. He was grabbed from behind as something yanked him from his desk.

Jamie disappeared into the shadows and Jack started screaming right along with the kids. "Jamie! Jamie! Bunny, help!" Bunny was by his side in a moment, kicking at the glass and trying to get in. As soon as the window broke, the dry ice disappeared. Broken ice and glass sprayed the floor and everyone had a few cuts.

Kids were huddled on the floor, plastered on the walls, and crying. Mr. Griffith was looked lost, having no idea what to do or how to respond. 27 kids were confused, scared, and cold. Pippa looked towards Jamie's desk and gasped.

"Jamie's gone!"

And Jack screamed.

 **Whoa! Another cliffhanger! What a shocker! As for Jamie, I would say no spoilers, you'll just have to wait and see, but we all know he's fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to him.**

 **Wow. Over 3,000 words? This is my longest chapter yet! You should all review to celebrate. C'mon. I know you want to. I love reading your reviews!**

 **K, I think that's it. Oh, and I'm open to requests, so send me some! Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8: Sibling Rivalry

**I am ashamed. It's been too long. My only excuse? Life. It's too great to step away from to write! Oh, and also school. Well, here's the next chapter! Also, pleeeeease review and send requests. They make my day!**

 **Disclaimer: RotG belongs to MaiaMaid Co.**

 **Annoying Copyright Infringement Dude: Actually it belongs to DreamWorks.**

 **Me: Oh, shush! It's my story, I can do what I want!**

 **Annoying Copyright Infringement Dude: It's against the law.**

 **Me: Dude! I thought we were good. You used to be cool, man.**

 **Annoying Copyright Infringement Dude: You could be arrested.**

 **Me:...RotG belongs to DreamWorks.**

 _In._

 _Out._

 _In._

 _Out._

This is what Jack repeated in his head to remind himself to breathe. The brown paper bag held to his mouth expanded and shrank as he tried to stop hyperventilating.

"That's it, Sweet Tooth. Just keep breathing." Tooth said gently as they sat in a cafeteria with a hundred middle schoolers. Dessa was awkwardly patting him on the back and Bunny sat next to him. North had engulfed him in a hug and had only recently let go. Sandy had his arm around Jack.

After about ten minutes, he could speak again. "I screwed up." he said dully. He didn't expect Bunny to flick him on the head- _hard._ "That's not true and you know it. What could you have done?"

"I should have done something. I left him in there instead of getting him out. And you guys are shivering like crazy!" Jack looked around guiltily at the icy room, which he had frozen immediately after stumbling in, trying to regain control of his emotions. "Um, I'd like to point out that I'm not shivering," Dessa said.

"You don't count!" Jack snarled. Dessa looked surprised and hurt. After a second, she gave Jack a hard look and retracted her arm, hugging her knees a few feet from the rest of the group. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to check in with Jamie's friends." she said, emotionless. Her eyes seemed dull and guarded. She walked away quickly.

Bunny didn't get mad like Jack expected him to. He just stared at Jack. It was a melancholy, guilty stare. "Aw, c'mon, Frostbite. You know that ain't fair," he said softly. Jack said nothing. Bunny seemed disappointed. "I'll come back. By the time I'm back, I hope you'll have stopped moping and started coming up with a plan. And I hope you know she feels just as guilty as you do." He walked in Dessa's direction.

Jack grit his teeth. What was the matter with him?! Why was he angry at her? _Because it was_ her _sister. **Oh, shut up, negative side.** But it was her. She sidetracked you. **No, it was only Khione.** How do you know she's not working with Khione? **Dessa's not evil. She didn't do anything wrong. She saved Bunny, didn't she?**_

Jack felt a little strange arguing with himself. It wasn't unfamiliar, but he didn't want to. He wasn't alone anymore.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Her hood was up again. Oh, strewth, not the hood. Just like Jack, the Emo hood was a bad sign. Dessa was sitting down on a cold park bench, hood up, staring at nothing. Her face was one of such concentration that it felt as if she were trying to control the fabric of reality-and succeeding.

He sat down next to her. He didn't say anything. He was just there, a reassurance that he didn't hate her. He knew she was there, in need of support, and he was just there. Ready to help if she asked. It was the best way he could comfort her. The stubborn little Nereid wouldn't take the help if it wasn't her idea, so all he could do was be there.

Slowly, very slowly, Dessa lay her head on Bunny. Her hair caught the light, making Bunny more curious on why the streaks on brown were there. And her skin was darker than before. And, his eye caught a wince as she shifted.

What had happened?

"Bunny. I don't know what to do," Dessa confessed. "I feel so sick and confused. I just-" she cut herself off with a frustrated groan. Bunny thought for a moment. "What's the root? What's causing it?" Dessa sighed. "Nothing. Everything! I don't know! I could have kept this all from happeneing, but I didn't."

"I feel restrained, and I hate it so much. I could've kept Khione from doing any of this. If I had been good enough, I-" Dessa was cut off suddenly as Bunny shouted, "Hey!"

"Don't even think that! You _are_ good enough. You did what was right, even though I acted like an idiot and Khione is your sister. You still kept her from hurting others because it was right. You did what was right because you are good. Stop thinking 'if you had been better', because sometimes things happen and you can't keep them from happening. What's important is how you react. What makes you a good person isn't to see if you can endure this. It's if you can endure it well."

Dessa smiled. Her eyes still stung, but they dried up faster when she was with Bunny. She rested her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Hypocrite." she said. "What?" Bunny did not expect that. Dessa rolled her eyes. "You blame yourself for everything. Me fighting Khione, your entire race's extinction, Khione hurting me even a little, me getting 'avalanched' in the face, this whole thing, and me being lonely. You even blame yourself for everything Jack has gone through and _him_ blaming _me."_

Bunny was shocked. It's like he was preparing to get hit in the head and she suddenly whopped him in the stomach. He chuckled. "Okay, maybe we _both_ need a little help."

Dessa was smiling, but she knew what Bunny was silently wondering. "Go ahead," she said. "Ask what you want to ask." Bunny glanced at her hair. "Okay. What happened to you? What changed you since I saw you?" Dessa bit her lip. Oh, that's what he was wondering. Whoops.

"Well, you know I fought Khione. I know most of her tricks, since she taught me how to fight. She knew all my moves, so when I revealed that I wouldn't let her win, she used what she knew against me. I almost lost. She attacked me emotionally, too. She said I was a disappointment, and took on a new person to teach. Pitch Black. They combined magic and made this absorbing ice-I don't know how to describe it. It absorbed some of my will and power and brought it back to Pitch. It was supposed to kill me, but that was when Manny made me immortal.

I used that Lunar magic to break her hold. Pitch got away, but hey, I got this snazzy moon dress. I did get new powers, too. I can feel more of my Mom's side. I can breathe underwater and control it. And-here's the best part-" she lifted up to top layer of her hair. The hair underneath was blue and purple.

"Sweet!" Bunny said.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Jack was in the middle of an existential crisis when Dessa and Bunny rudely interrupted. Bunny could tell. He facepalmed. "You haven't come up with a plan, have you, Frostbite?"

For some reason, Jack felt very offended. "Well, excuse me, Cottontail! I've just been in the middle of a panic attack while questioning my existence! My bad, I didn't try to come up with some impossible plan to save someone when no one else can see us, and we have no idea where he is! You're totally right, I should've done it without any help when I'm just as clueless as anybody. Seriously, Bunny, can't you see I'm in the middle of a meltdown?!"

"And he's back," North said from behind Jack.

Tooth was surprisingly good at taking charge. "Okay, now that everyone is back, we need a real plan. Dessa, where would Khione take Jamie?" Dessa answered almost immediately. "My sister is proud. _Very_ proud. That's her downfall. She wouldn't think she needs to be cautious. Khione is most likely keeping Jamie in the obvious place-her palace."

"Good. What about defenses?" Jack flashed back to when he first met Khione. It had been years ago. Pitch Black had been defeated, and Khione was looking for an evil sidekick. Obviously she didn't know him, because evil was not his thing. The sidekick business was a deal breaker. And she had figured that out very quickly.

"She's perceptive. Very logical, very calculated. She likes to peel away at a person until she knows everything about them, then she uses it against you. It's scary how quickly she has you figured out. I'm guessing mind games are part of it?" Jack asked. Dessa nodded. "That's why you have to be careful with what you say. Don't let her get inside your head. She's like an evil therapist."

"Jack, you still have not told us how you know her. And more importantly, how she knows you," North pointed out. Jack tried not to look embarrassed, but he fidgeted. "I met her about 200 years ago. She offered an alliance, but I turned her down. Best choice I ever made. And most painful," he added as an afterthought.

Dessa said something in some other language angrily. Tooth, who always had a mothering nature, reprimanded her. "Dessa!" she scolded. "Don't use that language!" Dessa seemed more interested and surprised than angry. "You know Greek?" Tooth huffed. "Of course. I know every language."

"Guys, stay on track. What else do we need to know?" Dessa hummed. "Well, she's a skilled sword fighter. She's very agile and quick. She can change what she looks like, being a goddess and all, so we should have a code word or something. She can also frost animals." That got Jack's attention. "Hey, me too!" he said. "Uh, sharp toothed, dangerous, wolf-like animals," she corrected.

"Well, what signal that we aren't Khione?" North asked. It was Tooth who answered. "Hopefully we won't get separated, but if we do, and find someone else we aren't sure about, one person can blink twice, and the other person can respond by biting there lip." she said easily. That made Jack curious. "How come you know so much about this sort of thing?" Tooth smiled slyly. "You don't know everything about me." she said cryptically.

 ** _Okay, that was unnecessarily ominous_** , Jack thought. He shrugged. Sandy suddenly, or maybe not so suddenly, yanked Bunny's ear, _hard._ Bunny yelped. "Sandy, _why?!_ Why me?" Sandy challenged Bunny with a look before turning to Dessa. A sand image of a stick with sparkles on the tip appeared above his head.

Dessa stared at it for a while. "Sparklers?" she guessed. Sandy shook his head. North gave it a try. "Fire hazard?" Sandy pointed at the sparkles vehemently. "Magic wand?" Bunny tried. Sandy nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, that's right! Khione has magic on her side, so don't die."

The otherwise silent room was penetrated by a large crash. Middle schoolers screamed, muffled by the walls. The group scurried to the noise, stumbling over the ice. When they opened the doors, they saw ice freezing over broken pieces of roof. The top part of the wall and most of the roof had collapsed, luckily not on any students.

Khione was in the midst of all the chaos. She was holding a backpack. Jamie's backpack.

Jack almost lost it right there. If North and Bunny hadn't been holding him back, he would've tried to charge Khione. Bunny leaned over to Dessa. "I thought you said she'd be at her creepy ice house." he whispered. Dessa didn't take her eyes off Khione. "I guess I underestimated her pride."

"But it could work, couldn't it? She's too vain for stealth. You're not. We have the advantage!" Bunny said. Dessa bit her lip. "I guess there is that one, specific thing. Just don't lower your guard. At any moment she could-"

"Sister! And friends! How lovely of you to join!" Khione shouted. Most of the humans remained blissfully ignorant, but Jamie's friends were freaking out.

Khione's smile was charming, devious. Her eyes were smooth and controlled, but borderline traumatizing to look at. "You know, Jack, the offer's still on the table. Same for you, Iridessa." Jack was fuming. How could she say that after kidnapping Jamie?! Jack didn't understand how Dessa was keeping it together.

At least, that's what Jack thought until she threw an ice missile at her sister. Khione swerved to avoid it, and quickly drew a cold steel sword. Dessa did the same, except that hers wasn't quite as long. They attacked, both blocking blows as much as throwing them. Somehow, Khione still managed to keep the guardians busy. She sent waves of sleet at them, and kept them on their toes as they tried to protect any kids in the way.

As she was distracted, outnumbered six to one, Dessa began gaining the upper hand. Jack began to think they might actually win. Which, of course, jinxed the whole thing and it was all Jack's fault.

Khione pulled out an identical sword, now fighting with two. She cornered Dessa, landing multiple blows to her abdomen and arms. She feinted towards Dessa's face, which Dessa blocked, but at the last second she lashed at her chest, leaving a deep cut. Finally, she used the butt of her sword to hit her in the head.

Dessa, disoriented and confused, stumbled back. Khione laughed. "Admit it, I was always the better swords woman." Dessa shook it off and frosted over her wounds. "Then let's stop playing around with them." she said. She threw hers like a spear at Khione and ran to Jamie's friends.

North disagreed. He loved playing with swords! Pulling his twin swords out, he charged Khione and battled. Tooth ran to help Dessa care for the kids.

Jack and Bunny were also fighting hard. The harsh wind _inside the frickin building_ was tossing kids around like rag dolls. Jack was repeatedly making snowbanks to break their fall. Bunny, unfortunately, was on the receiving end of many sheets of ice. Sandy was trying to sneak up on Khione, but his glowing yellow sand did not help.

Eventually, he tied a sand whip around her leg and yanked. Khione stumbled, giving Sandy the opportunity to drag her outside, hopefully protectioning the children. Tooth looked Pippa in the eyes. "We'll get Jamie back," she said confidently.

Once outside, Khione attacked Dessa mercilessly. There was a fire in her eyes that can't be described. "Are you breaking your promise _again,_ Iridessa? It's a good thing he's dead, imagine if he saw you now with this pooka." she shouted through the storm. Dessa was attacking more powerfully. She was fueled by anger and hurt.

"What was it you said to that pathetic mortal? ' _I'll always be yours'_? I suppose that meant nothing. Here you are, again, loving this rabbit. He'd die all over again if he saw you now," Khione screamed. Dessa screamed, too, but it was a broken cry. Tears streamed down her face, and she made to deliver a final blow. She took the essence of ice, something she'd never done before, and strained to build it up.

Bunny was very angry. Khione had used her past, her emotions, to get to her. However, he didn't want to inflict that pain on anyone. He didn't want Dessa to, either. So he called out to her. "Dessa!" It distracted her, but a small amount flew at Khione. She yelped.

Fuming, she copied her. She gathered ice essence in huge amounts and swirled tendrils of it around Dessa. Trapped, her eyes went wide. Khione walked up to her, and before anyone could stop her, did the freakiest gesture ever seen. It made the floor collapse, and Dessa sank through. The floor then closed up. For a moment, everyone was in shock. Khione did the same thing to Jack, and then disappeared down one herself.

 **Phew! I did it! That took a while, and now my battery's almost dead, but hey! This is pretty good! Sorry, I'll try not to make the next one so depressing. R &R!**


	9. Chapter 9: Dessa and Jack Are James Bond

**Hola, readers! Don't you just love cliffhangers? Yah, neither do I. There's so many in Heroes of Olympus that I've lost count! It was traumatizing. _Oh yeah, let's just throw them into oblivion and end the book! No, no, trust me, they'll love it!_ Argh! Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: ...**

 **Mother Nature: Do you own RotG?**

 **Me: *distracted affirmative answer***

 **MN: *one eyebrow raised* What was that?**

 **Me: *sees MN* What?**

 **MN: *uses magical power to burn me with her eyes***

 **Me: No sir, ma'am, sir!**

Jamie was cold. Very cold. His eyes hurt, trying to see more clearly in the darkness. without much sense of sight, he was relying heavily upon smell and sound. He just hoped he didn't become the next Gollum.

He couldn't tell how long it had been, but he was smart. He knew that he would freeze quicker because he was so small. Luckily, he'd had a very, _very_ big breakfast, courtesy of Mrs. Bennet. That would help him have the energy to keep warm for a while. Wow, he thought. Science wasn't completely useless after all.

He heard something. Straining his ears, he heard the faint sound of someone yelling. Two someones. It was getting closer, until-

"Oof!" Jack cried as he knocked Jamie to the ground. Dessa soon followed, flailing and screaming. Jamie had mixed feelings about this. "Uh, guys, I need air."

"Sorry," Jack muttered as he tried to get off the small seventh grader. A small pause. "Jamie? Jamie!" Jack attacked the boy, hugging him fiercely. Dessa peered into the darkness. "Jack," she started hesitantly. "what did Khione say she wanted us for?" Jack was confused. "What do you me-oh." Khione had told them that the offer to team up with her was still on the table. What would they do?

"She knows we won't join her, doesn't she?" Jack said desperately. Dessa didn't answer.

Walking over to the wall, or rather stumbling, Jack made to hit it with his staff-before realising it was missing. He groaned in frustration. "How are we going to get out of here?" Dessa hummed. "I think our first priority should be to keep Jamie warm," she said. "I'm f-f-f-fine," Jamie insisted, his teeth chattering.

"Pfft, no you're not. Do you have a lighter?" Jamie gave Jack an odd look, or maybe it just looked weird in the darkness. "To school? I'm only 12. I do have a phone, though," Jack scoffed. "When I was your age, my toy was a shotgun or a shepherd staff. My dad had me do half the work by the time I was 9. Kids are so coddled."

Jamie pretended to be offended. "Excuse me, I think I turned out just fine!" he said indignantly. Chuckling, Jack took the phone and took out the battery. "Dessa, do you by any chance have your sword?" Dessa grabbed a small dagger from inside her sleeve. "It was knocked out of my hand. Will this work?" Jack nodded.

Using the blade, Jack flicked the terminal end off of the battery. He took a stray shrapnel of metal from the phone to the blade against the terminal, which short circuited the battery. He tore off a small piece of his shirt and held it to the sparks emitting from the battery.

"What are you thinking, that phone was expensive!" Jamie exclaimed. "Poking a hole in the battery will expose the lithium inside it to oxygen, hopefully creating a small explosion to start a fire." he explained. He preceded to do so, holding strands of thread from his hoodie to the blade and battery, and soon smoke was coming from it. A small fire started, eventually turning into a larger fire. **(Does this actually work, you ask? Heck, I don't know. I hope so, I didn't put a whole lot of research into it, but a phone battery should produce a fire in those circumstances, in theory. So...yay I'm smart(?))**

Jamie sighed. He put his hands up to the fire, warming them. Dessa smiled. "Nice thinking."

Jack felt quite proud of himself.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Bunny was the first one to the sleigh, surprisingly enough. He was sitting there, tapping his foot, and not even complaining about the lack of seat belts when the other guardians got there. "Quickly! Quicklier!" he shouted. On the way there, all he could do was talk about how slow their were going.

Tooth cleared her throat. "Bunny, are you okay?" Bunny just growled. "Maybe there's something you'd like to talk about?" Tooth probed. "Oh, no, Tooth. Nothing much. Just that the only two people in existence that I owe the world to have been kidnapped by the one villain I never could beat, along with the only thing I swore to protect when I became a guardian!" he said angrily, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Tooth shifted uncomfortably. "Are you mad that Dessa loved someone else?" she asked hesitantly. That caught Bunny by suprise. "What do you mean?" Tooth sucked in air through her teeth. Er, don't mind the pun. "Didn't you hear Khione? She loved a mortal a long time ago, but he died, and then she fell for you."

Bunny waved his hand nonchalantly. "Oh, that doesn't matter. So she's had other crushes, big deal. So have I. Bet you have, and North and Sandy, too, probably."

"Objection!" North yelled from the front of the sleigh. Sandy created a picture of the fifth amendment, right to remain silent. Mind that pun.

"I'm mad that Khione took them!" Bunny growled. Tooth looked at him sympathetically. "Oh, Bunny. We all are." Bunny shook his head. "No, it's more than that. They're technically the youngest, and the ones I'm closest too. No offense, but I know you guys can handle yourselves. Dessa is the most amazing girl I've ever met, and Jack is like a brother to me. That's not a coincidence. Khione did that on purpose, to target me. But why? What do I have that she doesn't?" he wondered.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Dessa was shamelessly baring her teeth when Khione came in and put out the fire that was keeping Jamie warm. Light flooded the room, temporarily blinding them. When they had use of their eyes again, Khione said, "Come. You'll freeze that child, and none of you are of any use to me if he dies."

"Where are we going?" asked Jamie. Khione looked down on him disdainfully. "Well, I'm not quite as cruel as to freeze you to death. You all get rooms." Dessa scoffed. "You're exactly that cruel. I bet our rooms are separate, aren't they?" Khione didn't respond for a while. "You think you're so smart, don't you, Iridessa? This isn't a game. You do not have the upper hand."

Dessa smiled. "Maybe that's what you think. But a game is exactly what this is. This is war. This is strategy. It is exactly like chess. And maybe, Khione, you're the better swordswoman. But you could never beat me at chess. I beat you last time, I'll do it again."

One glance at Khione's fiery eyes, and suddenly they were in their rooms. They were actually pretty nice, like a 4-star hotel. Except that their were bars surrounding them.

They were connected, so that the three could talk, but not touch. The had a bed, water, and a bathroom. Jamie's even had a fireplace. Jack whistled. "That was pretty bad bible donkey, Dessa."

She pretended to be shy. "Well thank you! Not so bad yourself, Bear Grylls. Jack grinned wide. Dessa felt proud, but also kinda wanted to one up Jack. As she pondered on how, Jamie provided the answer. "Dessa, do you have a hairpin?" Shaken out of her stupor, Dessa looked at Jamie questioningly.

"Why?" Jamie was staring at the electronic lock. "I've seen this on TV. We can pick the lock!" he said excitedly. Chuckling, Dessa gently corrected him. "No, that only works on traditional locks. But, we might be able to do it another way."

Khione walked in a second later, rudely interrupting their escape plan. "Well, your friends are attempting to break in. They seem to be pretty good at it, too. We can't have that. I know Bunnymund's fatal weakness. What are the others?" Dessa laughed. "Do you really think we'd help you?" Khione smiled evilly. "Maybe. Or maybe Jack will." Jack snorted. "Yeah, right. Sorry, lady, evil ain't my thang." he said, in a very teenager-y way.

"Hmm. Even if Jamie is depending on you?" Khione said, putting out Jamie's fire. Jack didn't budge. "What if I take him away?" Jack's eyes went wide, but he hesitated. "Tooth slips on ice." he said reluctantly. Khione huffed and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Jamie called. She turned. "I, uh, I'm thirsty." Khione raised an eyebrow. "I want coke." Jamie said confidently. Groaning in disgust, Khione tossed him a soda and left.

"Hey! This is a Sprite!" Jamie exclaimed. "It'll do. Thanks, Jamie. And Jack, why?! You told her how to beat Tooth!" Dessa said. Jack smiled. "Tooth can fly."

"Nice thinking. Now, Jamie, take the sprite can top. Take it off. Listen to me very carefully. Take the electronic lock and behind it there should be some wires. Use the soda top to strip off the rubber casing of the black wire and the green wire. Carefully twist them around each other and connect them to the black outlet. There's a switch. Flip it while pressing the red button three times. Now, take the two wires and hold them to the access key." Dessa instructed Jamie. The lock switched from red to green, signaling that it was unlocked.

"Nice work, Jamie!" Jack exclaimed. "Keep it on there until we can figure out how to get you out, okay, bud?" Jack told him. Jamie nodded proudly. Dessa than went to the bars. Looking upon the water bottle next to the bed, she opened it and blew everyone's mind.

She poured it out, which seemed normal at first, except that the water was floating. "Holy walrus poop!" Jack yelled, jumping back. Jamie laughed. "Walrus poop?"

Dessa smiled smugly, bending the water through hand movements. She struck against the bars, over and over, attempting to weaken it. "You're Katara!" Jamie yelled. Dessa was confused, and maybe offended. "Ex-excuse me?!" she said. "You're a waterbender, from the southern water tribe, but everything changed when the fire nation attacked!" Jamie 'explained'. Dessa wasn't sure whether to be offended or not. "Um, thank you?"

She eventually made her out of the cell. "I'll be back soon. I'm just going to find the others. It shouldn't take more than half an hour, okay?" Jack and Jamie nodded. Dessa took a deep breath and went up to the door. Before she could open it, it swung open, and guess who was behind it?

"Khione! Hi! I was just looking for the bathroom." Dessa said quickly. Khione created handcuffs from some goddess-y magic. She slapped them on Dessa's wrists and in one swift hurt, she flipped Dessa's hand over her shoulders so that the handcuffs were behind Dessa's back. As Dessa cried out, Jack gripped the bars until his knuckles turned white, watching as Khione led her sister to her cage.

The bed and bathroom had disappeared. Now it was just a cage. Khione handcuffed Dessa to the bars behind her back and put a gag in her mouth. "Try to conspire now, chess champ." Khione laughed.

If looks could kill Khione wouldn't be a problem anymore, because Dessa sent the dirtiest look Jack had ever seen, with the exception of Mother Nature.

Meanwhile, the other guardian had heard Dessa cry out. Bunny's ears perked up. "Come on!" he exclaimed.

 **I'm sorry that took so long. I had it all typed up hen the power went out from all the snow we've been getting. Thanks for that, Jack Frost.**


	10. Chapter 10: Mars isn't Real

**Sooo...I _was_ planning to write some huge, long winded rant about not reposting my material or stealing my stories because I saw some near identical fanfictions, but I looked back on it and decided it sounded too whiny. Instead, imma shorten it, plain and simple. Please don't steal mah stuff! ...oohkay, now that that's out of the way, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I added some White Collar references for you Neal Caffrey fans. Yep, confession, I'm one too. I don't own White Collar or RotG!**

Bunny raced down the icy hall, trying not to slip. Dessa's cry had made something in him snap. He couldn't leave her there, not when they were so close. Sniffing the air, he tried to pinpoint where they would be. Jack and Dessa were impossible, but Jamie at least smelled like a regular human.

"Bunny, slow down!" Tooth yelled. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should listen, but he couldn't. He ran another hundred meters before he stopped to look behind him. A wall of ice suddenly closed the hall his friends were in, locking him out.

He immediately stopped dead in his tracks.

"Tooth? Sandy? North?!" Bunny called, pounding his fists-paws?- on the wall. He could hear them due to his sensitive ears, but just barely. It was muffled, but at least he knew they were okay. "Bunny? What do we do?" Tooth sounded a little panicked. "Keep going," he responded. "I'll try to find another way to you, but keep looking for Jack, Dessa, and Jamie!"

He couldn't hear their response, but he had other problems now. Jamie might be freezing, and he couldn't know what Khione was doing. He turned around, nose quivering in the cold. As he walked through the hall, he saw some incredibly freaky looking ice statues in the shape of wolves.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Tooth flew just above the ground, leading the two other guardians through the castle. She tried to think of where their other friends might be, but the hallways were so confusing and undistinguishable from one to another that before long she was completely lost. She spotted a door, which she easily broke through.

A net was launched at her from the darkness of the room. She gasped and sliced through it with her wings. The room was filled with light and she lost her balance, blinded. North caught and steadied her, pulled out his twin swords, and whirled to face Khione, who was in the middle of the room. She smiled evilly. "So, another fairy doomed to freeze," she said coldly.

Tooth looked on in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Tooth," North said in a warning voice. Khione laughed. "You didn't really think it was a good idea to come here, did you? Leaving your fairies alone and defenseless." Tooth's heart felt cold. "My fairies aren't defenseless!" she shouted.

Khione looked at Tooth almost lazily. "Toothiana, _think_ for a moment! What are a few tiny fairies against the goddess of snow and ice?" she pushed. Tooth stared blankly at the wall, eyes hot. She felt unbalanced and wavering, as if a part of her heart had been stolen. Sandy held her arm reassuringly and glared at Khione.

"Toothy, she is lying!" North bellowed, eyes narrowed at the goddess. Khione scoffed. "Am I? Please, if Pitch Black can get into the Tooth Palace, I certainly can. If it's any consolation, they put up a struggle. They fought well considering fairies and ice don't do well. Why, a few of them even managed to run for a while, but winter always catches up."

Tooth inhaled sharply. Eyes stinging, she reached through her mind, trying to listen to her fairies, a feat that was usually simple and easy. She listened, and-silence. She heard nothing. Truth dawned on her and she attacked Khione with renewed force, screaming in defiance and wiping her eyes despite the tears flowing freely.

Sandy and North also joined, Sandy sending golden whips at her, North with his twin swords. The trio attacked fiercely, but Khione was in her element. And without the others, they could barely keep up with Khione.

Tooth herself was at the front, landing multiple blows to Khione and getting quite a few herself. Aside from a few minor scratches, however, she was holding her own. North was right behind her, trying to trip Khione from behind. Sandy, too, was fighting hard. Although there was less of them than the last time they had faced her, they also didn't have to worry about protecting children from her.

Sandy quickly helped them gain the upper hand in a very strange way. He had given up of his sand whips, because they would likely hurt either North or Tooth. Because of this, he was relying on dreamsand. He was not the best aim, so it was quite a bit harder, but at one point he landed a blow directly on Khione's face.

She staggered back, eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake. She almost looked fearful as she swept her hand around herself, presumably in some magic goddess-y way. Her form flickered, and she disappeared.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Jamie groaned in exasperation. "How much longer? I'm _bored!_ " he exclaimed. Jack stared at him with a deadpan expression. "I'm sorry, would _you_ like to freeze metal to the point of breaking?" Jack said sarcastically. Dessa fidgeted, unable to face Jack or Jamie because of the handcuffs. "I thought you could use your powers without your staff?" she asked.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Unless you want a huge ice explosion and a Jamie-sicle, I do not recommend that."

"How bout no." Jamie said.

"Besides, why can't you wait? I'm sure Bunny and the others are on their way," Jack said. Dessa blew hair out of her face. "Yeah, but I...have to use the bathroom. And I'm pretty sure Khione made this freeze-proof."

Jack dropped his hands. "And it didn't occur to you that this would've been useful information?" he asked frustratedly. Dessa shrugged.

Groaning, Jack wondered if he could bite his way through the cage, starting to feel a little claustrophobic. He heard the crackling of Jamie's fire, which, for some reason, wasn't the most calming noise for him.

Jamie hummed. "Why don't I just go out and try to find the others? We already know they're here." Jack shook his head vehemently. "No way, kiddo. That's too dangerous." Jamie huffed. "Well, do you have a better idea?" he asked stubbornly. Unfortunately, neither winter spirit did. "Look, if you want, I'll bring some of this handy dandy fire with me."

Jack did _not_ want that.

"Why? And how are you planning to carry fire around with you?" Jack thought this was a perfectly valid question, but Jamie just stared at him like he was stupid. "Jack, there is literally a torch two feet away from you."

Indeed, there was a torch. Why there was a torch in a castle made of ice, Jack had no idea, but he decided not to bring that up for fear of jinxing it. "When did that get there?!" Jack exclaimed. Jamie rolled his eyes and opened the door of his room cage. "Don't worry, Jack! If you and Dessa don't like fire, neither will that creepy ice lady." Jamie tried reassuring Jack, climbing behind his cage and reaching up for the torch. Jack bit his lip, but reluctantly gestured for Jamie to leave. Tiptoeing out, Jamie smiled at Jack and Dessa, still quite proud of himself for getting the door open in the first place, and feeling rather like a double agent.

As he crept through the empty hallway, he strained his eyes and ears, his whole body on high alert. He lost track of time in the seemingly endless halls, and eventually came across some mildly terrifying ice sculptures of wolves.

Jamie shuddered, whether from the cold or pure freaked-out-ness, he wasn't sure. He stayed exactly in the middle of the hall, doing his best to stay far away from the statues on either side of him. What anyone would want such creepy home decor, he wasn't entirely sure, but he tried not to question weird evil ice goddesses.

Perhaps Khione simply thought they looked nice. They fit her personality, after all. I mean, anyone who wants a castle made of ice and keeps prisoners in nice hotel room jail cells was clearly not in their right mind. Why not just keep the bed to yourself, if you have access to them? Besides, a bed made of ice would be highly uncomfortable.

Lost in his own thoughts, Jamie didn't notice the pounding footsteps as soon as he would have preferred. He was just a 12-year-old, after all, and was easily distracted. Hmm. No wonder his math grade was so low.

Anyway, Jamie looked around for a hiding place, but there were only weird wolf ice statues and very high-up ice rafters as far as the eye could see. Jamie figured that neither would be a good hiding place because, a) they were weird and freaky, b) he had a torch, which didn't do well with ice. He was saved from the decision, however, when the footsteps paused, and then sped up. He could hear it coming towards him, fear welling up inside his chest. It was running towards him, just around the bend, and-

"Aagh!" Jamie screamed, or more accurately, squeaked. Bunny covered his ears and stopped in his tracks, which probably saved him from running face first into Jamie's fire torch.

"What the heck, Jamie?!" Bunny whisper-yelled. Jamie had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry, Bunny. I thought you were that ice lady." Jamie apologised. Bunny softened. "Don't worry about it, kid. At least I didn't get roasted," he said, pointing to Jamie's torch.

Jamie smiled crookedly. "Where are the others?" he asked. Bunny tried not to, but he visibly deflated. "We, uh, got separated. But don't worry, we'll find them." Bunny said confidently. "What about Jack and Dessa? Can you lead me to them?" Bunny asked. Jamie nodded animatedly. "Yeah, I can do that!" He turned around, only to see the endless rows of ice wolves.

"Uh..."

Bunny looked very much like he wanted to face palm. "You don't remember, do you?"

"Nope."

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Dessa decided to cross her legs in an attempt to keep from needing a restroom. It wasn't working. She still _really_ needed to pee. "Any luck?" she asked a bit desperately. Jack groaned in frustration. "I'm trying, but it's been a while!" he snapped. Dessa resisted the urge to snap back. "Jack, calm down. I get that this castle messes with your mind, but don't go crazy on me, okay?"

Jack took a shaky breath. "Sorry, just...small spaces." He shuddered. Dessa nodded in understanding. Elementals needed wide open spaces, and the Wind. Anything small or enclosed was against their nature, and could be a terrifying experience.

Jack returned to his attempt. Now that Jamie was out of the room, he could try to harness some cool, more powerful ice magic to get them out. Dessa, who was also immune to cold, would (probably) be fine. Jack breathed in deeply, closed his eyes, and concentrated. A glow emitted from his hands and he focused on breaking the metal bars. Sharp, jagged frost designs, unlike his typical frost, spread across the bars. His eyes flew open, the irises glowing slightly.

Ice, ice so cold that it was boiling hot, came from his hands onto the bars. They burst open. Jack stood up triumphantly, albeit a bit shakily.

Dessa, who had craned her head around as much as she could to see, huffed. "Showoff," she muttered. Jack laughed. "Ya know, I could just leave you here." he joked. Dessa raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, smile giving her away.

Jack strutted over to her cage, because he was indeed a showoff, but Dessa stopped him. "Not the bars," she said. "The handcuffs." Jack understood why. Cages were bad, but handcuffs? No thank you. Besides, Dessa's cage was considerably more constricting then his had been.

And, since Elementals work with their hands, handcuffs were a huge no-no. He obliged her request and blew up her handcuffs through the bars of her cage, with only minor icing of said Nereid's hands. She breathed a sigh of relief once they were off, and then Jack got to work on the cage. A few minutes later, both winter spirits were feeling much more free, although they were still technically trapped. They grinned.

Running out of the room, Dessa sucked in air. "Where's a bathroom?" she nearly yelled, jumping up and down. Her eyes were scrunched up. Dang, she needed to pee!

Jack tried unsuccessfully not to laugh.

Dessa glaring daggers at him, they continued their trek through the freaky castle.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Jamie and Bunny attempted not to be creeped out by the unnaturally real looking ice wolves. Bunny could tell something was off about them, but he didn't want to stick around to find out what. Suddenly his ears perked up and he stopped in his tracks. Sniffing the air, the only thing he could make out was ice. Okay, so that could be a good thing and be Jack or Dessa-or Khione.

Bunny stood defensively in front of Jamie as the person he had smelled approached. "Bunny?" Jamie asked uncertainly. Bunny responded by silently putting a finger over his mouth. The person revealed themselves to be Jack, but Bunny didn't relax.

Jamie's eyes lit up. "Jack!" he exclaimed. He tried to rush forward to meet him, but Bunny held him back. "Stay behind me," Bunny muttered to Jamie, who was very confused.

Jack came closer. "Bunny!" Jack said loudly, raising his arms as if to hug Bunny. Bunny narrowed his eyes suspiciously and stepped back. What had they decided to use to signal that they were not Khione? A snap and a wink?

"I can't believe you're here!" Jack said excitedly.

Or was the signal a yawn and a sigh?

"Where are the others?" asked Jack.

...a frown and a handshake?

"Cmon, Bunny, talk to me!"

Yes, Jack was trying much to hard. The signal had been two winks and biting your lip!

Bunny blinked his eye twice and waited for 'Jack' to return the signal by biting his lip. He did not.

Oblivious to Bunny's internal struggle, Jack continued. "I meant to bring Dessa, but I couldn't get her out. Oh well, it doesn't matter now that you're here. Cmon, lets go get her!" Jack said cheerfully, and began to walk in the opposite direction. Bunny glared at him. "Stay away, Khione!" Bunny yelled. Both 'Jack' and Jamie looked confused.

"Khione?" Jack began amusedly. "Why would you say that?" Bunny pulled out his boomerangs. "Don't try to fool me, Khione!" Bunny snarled. Jack turned to face him, sneering in such a way that Bunny prayed that look would never appear on the winter spirits face again.

"Then I won't, rabbit." Khione said spitefully as she began to change into her true form, her disguise of Jack burning away. She spread out her hands in a claw like gesture, and the ice wolves around her sprang to life. Bunny's eyes widened and flashed to Jamie, who seemed glued to the spot in fear. While Khione was distracted raising her ice army, Bunny picked up Jamie and hoisted him up one of the rafters, taking his torch.

Jamie stifled a yelp as part of the ice cut his hand. He hid up there in the rafters as the fight raged below him. Bunny was burning wolves as quickly as he could with the torch, but they just kept on coming. Khione was attacking him mercilessly, despite the fact that her dress-er, toga?-was covered in burns.

At one point, Bunny would've said he hated dogs. Now, he realized, he simply disliked dogs. Wolves, on the other hand, he hated with a passion. As he fought through the forest of claws and teeth, Bunny held up his torch to avoid getting shredded. Still, he fought fiercely, casting egg bombs at Khione, who was now bright pink.

Jamie looked down in fascination at the scene, despite of the imminent danger he was in. Bunny was so cool when he fought! By now, he and Khione were engaged in hand to hand combat, although Bunnymund still had the torch in his hand and the entire wolf army on his tail. In spite of this disadvantage, he was doing quite well.

Whenever a wolf launched itself at him, he simply turned, and it would collide with Khione. She seemed to be losing, and Bunny was grinning in triumph.

"Stop!" Khione cried in desperation. "You can't kill me! You'll never find Dessa if I'm gone!" she shrieked. Bunny scoffed, dodging what otherwise would've been a very painful blow to the chest. "I'm not going to kill you, I'm going to win," he said confidently. Khione screamed in defiance.

"You won't win! How can you beat an enemy you don't even know?!" she yelled. Bunny paused in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Khione took advantage of his momentary confusion and snarled, disappearing with her ice wolves.

Silence reigned for about all of three seconds before Jamie jumped down from his hiding place and yelled, "That was awesome!" Bunny looked down at him in amusement. "Sure, ankle-biter," he said fondly. Okay, the kid was growing on him.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

After successfully relocations his staff, Jack and Dessa had many bumps and bruises from failed attempts at flying. They'd also managed to find a room with a legit giant ravine with a river at the bottom, which first of all, made Dessa need to pee more, second, they decided to not explore.

At this point, they were so bored that they want ted to find someone, anyone, even if if was Khione. They trudged along, and eventually ran into North, Sandy, and Tooth, who were playing-sorry, "examining", as they put it, some strange vials with potions in them. North, who was fairly experienced with potions, was excitedly sniffing and opening them, and not so subtly putting a few in his coat pocket.

After using the signal to check that none of them were Khione, the group continued searching for Bunny and Jamie, both of which they were all worried for-that is, until, they saw a trail of pink dye, which led them straight to the exasperated bunny and overexcited kid.

On the sleigh ride back, after concluding they should get Jamie home and rest up before anything else, they exchanged stories. When asked what happened, Jamie immediently launched into a story about ice wolves ten times their actual size, with Bunny as a superhero ninja and himself as an amazing fighter, taking out ten wolves at once. They all laughed at that, but Jamie looked offended. "You don't believe me?!" he asked, astonished.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, it is a little far fetched," he reasoned. Jamie huffed. "Isn't my bloodshed enough proof for you?" he said dramatically. Jack's eyes widened in horror as he immediently went mother hen on Jamie.

"You shed blood?!" Jack exclaimed, holding Jamie by the shoulders and inspecting him for injuries. Jamie proudly held out his battle wound, a tiny cut from climbing up the ice rafters to hide. Jack relaxed and stared at Jamie, deadpanned. "I can see that you've suffered," he said sarcastically.

As they arrived at Jamie's house, Jamie insisted that, and I quote, "I need medical attention!" Jack responded exasperated, with "Does anyone have a band-aid?" Tooth did, and Jamie seemed content with that.

It was considerably warmer in Burgess, which was good for the kids, but bad for the winter spirits present. As the whole group marched to Jamie's house, Bunny put his arm around Dessa protectively. She tried to push it off. "Bunny, I don't need help walking. You're being overprotective!" she complained.

Bunny didn't budge. "I am not! This is just in case it's too hot here for you and you get dizzy!" At that statement, Jack backed away from Bunny, not having any desire to be held. Dessa, however, just rolled her eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Aster." she said fondly.

They walked in and found Mrs. Bennett on the phone, talking frantically into it. However, upon seeing Jamie, she stopped, hung up the phone, and ran to hug him. "Jamie! I was so worried!" she yelled. "I'm fine, Mom," Jamie reassured her. Seeing that Jamie was alive and uninjured, Mrs. Bennett sighed and held his shoulders forcefully.

"Where have you been, young man? You had me worried sick!" she scolded. Jamie looked down guiltily. "'M sorry, Mom. I, uh, wanted to go ice skating at the pond," he fibbed. Jack face palmed.

Mrs. Bennett looked like she wanted to do the same. "Well, at least your safe. Now, don't ever do that again, or else!" she threatened. Her eyes softened, and she hugged him again. "Aw, this is a really sweet and touching reunion," Dessa said. "Now, where's the bathroom?" Jack laughed and pointed down the hall. "Thank you!" she said quickly, and rushed to the restroom.

A moment later, Mrs. Bennett broke the hug. "I need to go call the police back!" she said as she remembered it. As she rushed off, the toilet flushed. Mrs. Bennett paused and looked suspiciously towards the bathroom. "Sophie isn't home," she muttered suspiciously. Jamie coughed. "Must be the cat," he said.

Mrs. Bennett looked oddly at Jamie. "We don't have a cat, Jamie. Are you feeling alright?" she asked, concerned. Jack facepalmed again. Jamie was _really_ bad at lying.

Walking cautiously towards the restroom, Mrs. Bennett knocked on the door. "Someone's in here!" Dessa said, but of course Mrs. Bennett could not hear her. A moments silence. "I'll have to call the plumber," Mrs. Bennett decided. "All this darn ice, it's probably messed with our toilet." she said, mostly to herself as she went to call the police back.

 **(Line break, line break, line break)**

Dessa, now having used the bathroom, was much happier. They were all in Jamie's room, which had drawings of the guardians littering the floors. Jamie pushed them out of the way, embarrassed.

"Don't mind those," he muttered. Jack, however, was thrilled. "Wow, these are really cool! You've got some real artistic talent, kiddo!" Jack said, grinning. Jamie's ears turned red. The others continued to explore the room, and Jack found a laptop with a small piece of tape and paper at the top over the camera.

"What's this for?" Jack asked curiously. Jamie, seeing what Jack was looking at, yelped, "Don't touch that!" Jack paused. "Why not?" Jack asked, worried.

"It's to keep the stalkers away," Jamie responded, completely serious. Jack looked questioningly, and also blankly and Jamie. He stayed silent, a little concerned about his favourite believer's mental health.

"And to keep the government from documenting my face," Jamie continued. Jack tilted his head in confusion. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Jamie, the government is not spying on you," Jack said, exasperated. Jamie furrowed his brows and glared accusingly at Jack. "That's what _you think_! Aaaand you probably think that Mars is real, too?

...


End file.
